He finished the last strip of his grass and pushed the mower over to Georgia’s lawn.
Having never owned anything with a yard before, he wasn’t sure how he would feel about the required maintenance and upkeep, but so far, he was enjoying the physical work. And mowing the lawn, being unable to hear anything but the rumble of the motor, was almost relaxing. Or it would have been if the hum and the vibration of the machine in his hands hadn’t started him thinking about different hums and vibrations that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.
Yeah, it had definitely been too long since he’d been with a woman. Which brought him back to thinking about Georgia again. The neighbor who was, he reminded himself, strictly off-limits with respect to any kind of romance.
But while his mind might be willing to heed the warnings of his brothers, his hormones weren’t entirely convinced. Especially when Georgia’s van pulled into the driveway and his pulse actually skipped a beat.
As Georgia turned onto Larkspur Drive, she mentally reviewed her plans for the rest of the day. First and foremost was the long-neglected manuscript still on the dining room table. And when she finally got that manuscript finished, she would set Pippa up in her playpen on the deck while Georgia cut the grass. She still had mixed feelings about letting the boys play in the neighbor’s yard, but she thought she might indulge them today, trusting they would keep safely out of the way in the tree house.
She hadn’t seen much of Matt Garrett over the past few days, which made her realize how little she knew about him aside from his name. She didn’t know where he worked or what he did, whether he was married or engaged or otherwise involved. Not that she was interested, just … curious.
And when she turned into her driveway and saw him pushing a lawn mower over the last uncut strip of grass in front of her house, her curiosity was piqued even further.
She parked her minivan, then opened the back door to let the twins scamper out before she unlatched Pippa’s car seat. By the time she’d taken the baby into the house, he’d finished the lawn and was making his way toward her.
“Need a hand?” He gestured to the grocery bags in the back.
Georgia turned to respond, but the words dried up inside her mouth. His hair was tousled, his bronzed skin bore a light sheen of perspiration, and the gray T-shirt that molded to his broad shoulders and strong arms was damp with sweat. She’d always appreciated men who were more GQ than Outdoors-man, but she couldn’t deny that there was something very appealing about this man.
She swallowed. “No, I’ve—”
Ignoring her protest, he reached into the vehicle for the remaining two bags.
She blew out a breath. “Okay. Thanks.”
He grinned at her, and her knees actually went weak.
Something very appealing, indeed.
The first time she’d seen him up close, she’d been struck by his stunning good looks—and unnerved by her body’s instinctive response to his blatant masculinity. But she’d managed to convince herself that she’d overestimated his appeal, that he couldn’t possibly be as handsome or as sexy as she’d thought. Face-to-face with him now, she was forced to admit that, if anything, she’d underestimated his impact.
Those deep blue eyes were both warm and seductive, and his exquisitely shaped mouth seemed to promise all sorts of wicked pleasure. Not that she was interested in seduction or pleasure; she didn’t even have the energy for an innocent flirtation. But the pulsing of the blood in her veins proved that her body was only exhausted, not dead.
Matt followed her into the house and set the grocery bags on the counter.
“Can we come over to see the puppies?” Quinn asked.
Shane looked up at their neighbor, too, the plea in his gaze as earnest as his brother’s question.
“The puppies aren’t at my house today,” Matt told them.
Their hopeful smiles dimmed.
“Where are they?”
“With my brother, Luke, at his clinic.”
“He’s the doggy doctor,” Quinn reminded Shane.
“He’s a doctor for all kinds of animals,” Matt clarified.
“Maybe we could visit the puppies at the clinic,” Quinn suggested.
“Not today,” Georgia told him.
Shane pouted. “I want a puppy.”
“Well, you got a baby sister instead.”
“I’d rather have a puppy,” Quinn grumbled.
Matt turned to hide his smile as he washed his hands at the sink. “Those puppies were kind of cute,” he agreed. “But your sister is even cuter.”
“Do you think so?” Quinn’s tone was skeptical.
“Absolutely.” He smiled at the baby still securely strapped into her car seat but directed his next words to Georgia. “Can I take her out of there?”
She hesitated. “If you want, but she doesn’t have a lot of experience with strangers so she might …”
Her explanation trailed off when she saw that he already had Pippa out of her carrier.
Matt looked up. “She might what?”
“I was going to say ‘fuss,’” she admitted. “But obviously she is doing anything but.”
Instead, the little girl’s big blue eyes were intently focused on Matt’s face and her mouth was stretched into a wide, gummy grin that filled his heart so completely, his chest ached.
“She’s a charmer,” he said, tucking her carefully into the crook of his arm so that her head and neck were supported.
“She has her moments,” her mother agreed.
“Mostly she cries,” Quinn said.
“’Specially at night,” Shane added.
Georgia’s sigh confirmed it was true. “Colic.”
He’d had his own experience with a colicky baby, and he winced sympathetically. “Are you getting any sleep?” he asked.
“A lot less since my mom went away,” she admitted. “But I’m managing—if you disregard the fact that I’m falling behind on my work, housework and yard work.”
Shane tugged on the hem of her shirt. “I’m hungry.”
“I know, honey. I’ll get your lunch as soon as I get the groceries put away.”
“Gill cheez?”
She smiled. “You bet.”
“I want twisty pasta,” Quinn announced.
“You
